The Roman Army: From Republic to Empire and its influences
The main focus of my research paper will be on the Roman Army, starting with the Roman Republic and ending with the Empire. I will be talking about the progression of the army (i.e. Tactics, leadership, apparel), as well as its influences on the world. Introduction The Republic There is much debate over how long Rome was a major governing empire. Understand that the Roman republic was more than likely established during the 5th century B.C. During this time the Roman army was organized much like the Greek Army at that time. The Roman Army would look much like the Hoplite and use the phanlanx tactic. However, for the sake of this wiki page I will begin my analysis of the Roman military during the 2nd century B.C. (or B.C.E whatever). During this time the Roman Legion was reorganized and "overhauled" into a unique fighting force. It was after this that the Roman Legion got the reputation as a disciplined and well trained fighting force. The early Roman Legion deployed several different types of units on the feild. Each unit was designed for a specific job. The table below shows the order in which the Legion would deploy its troops on the feild. The velites were lightly armed skirmishers who operated in front of the army in loose formation. Their role was hence to harass the enemy, to provoke particular units into battle or to simply distract from the manoeuvres of the main body behind them. Against Hannibal, the velites proved an excellent foil for the elephants, drawing them through and away from the Roman battle lines. Given his role, a veles needed to be young, fast and agile. Here he carries a short javelin. It is likely that a veles may in fact have taken a collection of javelins into the field, as they very probably will have been his main weaponry. It is possible that they operated in teams of two, one bearing the weapons and operating as a shield man, the other engaging the foe with javelins. The hastati formed the first battle line, ahead of the principes. The final, third line was held by the triarii with their long spears. Both the hastati and the principes were similarly armed, hence they are hard to keep apart. A large curved shield, larger and heavier than that of the later legionaries, a simple bronze vaulted helmet with two side panels, chain mail body armour, a sword and a complement of pila (throwing spears). The triarii formed the heavy backbone of the early republican legion. It is behind them the lesser armed velites, hastati and principes could retire if the worst came to bear. ‘''It has come to the triarii''.’ was a traditional Roman saying describing a crisis. The triarii bore some similarity to the Greek hoplites because in essence they will have operated in the same way, forming a wall of shields, bristling with lances. Here our triarius is equipped with a large curved shield, larger and heavier than that of the later legionaries, a simple bronze vaulted helmet with two side panels, chain mail body armour, a sword and a long spear with which to keep the foe at a distance. Look closely and you see that his left leg only is armed with a bronze greave (shin guard). The left leg would be the forward leg, closest to the enemy. The Empire The Roman Empire started in the late 1st century B.C. Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD (or CE again whatever) The Roman Legion went through a number of changes. When people imagine the "Roman Legion" most will be thinking of the Legion between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. It is this Legion that many of the Hollywood movies are based on. During this time the Legion went through another standardization and overhall. Out went many of the old tactics, weapons, and armour. With the introduction of stell from Africa, the Legion became a "new and improved" fighiting force. A legionary wearing the famous banded armour, the lorica segmentata, and the typical imperial 'Gallic' helmet. Also he has with him the famous curved, square shield, the''gladius'' (sword) and a throwing spear (pilum). Notice that by this time the helmet was a sophisticated device, featuring deflection areas and rims designed to crimple on impact and so absorb blows. The rear neckguard is clearly visible, protecting from blows from behind. The cheek guards feature deflection panels to direct blows away from the neck. The rim on the forehead would not merely prevent rainwater from running into the soldier’s face, but would also absorb a downward slash of a sword. Even the ear openings are furnished with such rims. By the late third century the barbarian influence upon the army began to be ever more noticeable. Slowly the army begins to move toward the appearance of their Germanic enemies, from whence many of her recruits are coming. The very large, almost round shield clears bears little resemblance to anything the prior generations of Roman soldiers used. If there was still any doubts regarding this soldier’s heritage, one need only look at the trousers on his legs. The helmet worn here is the subject of some discussion as it isn’t really clear if it was a cavalry helmet or an infantry helmet of the age. Either way it seemed to have severely restricted movement of the head. The lamellar armour (a type of lorica squamata) borne by this soldier is fairly typical of the age and shows that , prior to the demise of body armour among the ever more mobile soldiery, the legions of the 3rd and fourth century were still largely heavily armoured. By the fifth century the barbarian nature of the army was barely disguised. Germanic warriors dominated the ranks and looked the part. Armour has been given up for greater speed and mobility, as the mobile field army needed to move fast to head off any invaders. Gone are any curved, square shields. Gone is the sophisticated design of the helmet. Gone is the short stabbing sword. Instead the soldiers is armed with a heavy Germanic spatha. Tactics The Tortoise In this scene from The Eagle, you can see one formation the Roman Legion used for defense. Testudo translates to tortoise and allows for maximum defense. The drawback of this formation, however, was that it limited the soldiers ability for hand to hand combat and sacrificed speed. This clip aslo shows how well diciplined the Roman Legion could be. The Wedge The wedge was an aggressive formation used to 'crack open' enemy lines. Relatively small groups of legionaries could form such a triangle and then drive their way into the enemy ranks. As more Roman soldiers reinforced the wedge from behind, the enemy line could be forced apart. As breaking the enemy's formation was very often the key to winning a battle, the wedge formation was vitally important battlefield tactic of the Roman army. The Saw The saw was opposite tactic to the wedge. This was a detached unit, immediately behind the font line, capable of fast sideways movement down the length of the line to block any holes which might appear to develop a thrust where there might be a sign of weakness. In the case of two Roman armies fighting each other in a civil war, one might say that the 'saw' inevitably was the response to a 'wedge' by the other side. This video shows a few more tactics the Romans employed against their enemies. It also does a good job at explaining the dicipline of the Legion and the way the Legion funtioned during battle. Repel Cavalry The first rank would form a firm wall with their shields, only their pila protruding, forming a vicious line of glistening spearheads ahead of the wall of shields. A horse, however well trained, could hardly be brought to break through such a barrier. The second rank of the infantry would then use its spears to drive off any attackers whose horses came to a halt. This formation would no doubt prove very effective, particularly against ill-disciplined enemy cavalry. The Orb The orb is a defensive postition in the shape of a circle taken by a unit in desperate straits. It allows for a reasonably effective defence even if parts of an army have been divided in battle and would have required a very high level discipline by the individual soldiers.If you were a Roman soldier this is the last thing you would want to hear. If the order for orb is called, it usually means you are completely surrounded and on the defense. Influences The Roman military has influenced the world in many different ways. One of the most popular things we "barrowed" from the Roman military was the idea of a retirement plan. Today the US Army's retirement plan is almost identical to that of ancient Rome's. You put in at least 20-25 years and the nation will support you after. This is just one of the many instances that the US Army copies the Roman Military. There are other ways in which the Roman military has influenced the modern militaries of the world such as military structure, drill, and ceremony. In the pictures below you can see some similarites between each picture. Almost every major successful military since Rome has adopted techniques or thought from the Roman legion in some way. Italy_Roman_Legion.jpg|Roman soldiers on the march nazi march.jpg|Nazi soldiers on parade ldac.jpg|US Army ROTC Cadets The Roman Army: From Republic to Byzantine and its influences The Roman Army: From Republic to Byzantine and its influences Category:Italian History